The Cherry Orchard

Overview

Synopsis

On a frosted May morning while the cherry trees are in bloom, an impoverished Russian aristocrat and her daughter return, after a self-imposed five-year exile, to their decaying ancestral home. Financial problems are forcing them to auction off their estate, including their beloved cherry orchard. While presented with options to save the estate, the family essentially does nothing and the play ends with the estate being sold and the family leaving to the sound of the cherry orchard being cut down. The play reflects the socioeconomic forces at work in Russia at the turn of the 20th century, including the rise of the middle class after the abolition of serfdom in the mid-19th century and the sinking of the aristocracy.